Sunday, February 15, 2009

Did you ever notice that some people you meet want to shoot the proverbial you know what and others want to get right down to business? How about the ones that want lots of details and the other ones that are a tad warm and fuzzy/sensitive types? Did you ever leave a meeting thinking you just didn’t “feel the love”? Think your prospects and customers ever had that feeling about you? I guess what I’m saying is that there are all kinds of people in this world and we either connect or we disconnect.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could crack the code somehow to connect with more people?

There have been study after study on various behavioral styles. Most break it down to 4 basic types. They have their own names for the 4 basic styles so in the spirit of simplifying, I have taken the liberty of breaking it down for you. You’re welcome by the way.

The Dominant “I want to conquer the world and put a ding in the universe by 9:00 am type” These folks hate chit chat, despise weakness and are very interested in ROI, market share, innovation, They are very competitive types and will outwork and outperform most. If I were to put a face on this behavior style it would be someone like a Donald Trump/

The sensitive, warm and fuzzy, can’t we all get along type. This is the kind of person that would never reject you to your face, but would go MIA on you rather that hurt your feelings. They love teamwork, collaboration and routine. The love routine because they hate change. If I were to put a face on this style it would be someone like a Paula Abdul when someone just sang some shitty, death rattle of a tune and she says “You know you are beautiful and it looks like you were having fun”

The I love details, details and just for the hell of it, more details type. This is the type that wants the history of the world in triplicate, notarized, and as much documentation as you can get them. They want facts, not speculations or guesstimates. They produce high quality work because at the core of their being is a fear of someone calling them out for being wrong. If I were to put a face on this type it would be someone like an Albert Einstein or the accounting folk we try to avoid as sales professionals.

The I want to F’n party, tell ya a joke, why is the world so serious and can we chat for a bit type. It will come as no shock to you that most sales people fit into this outgoing type. They hate minutia, instructions, formality. They love fun, bells and whistles, doing the deal over lunch. If I were to put a face on this type it would be Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers.

Once you understand how to identify each behavioral style, there are some specific strategies you can use to connect with them at a much deeper level. Once we connect we have a higher probability of making the sale!

I would suggest reading The Platinum Rule by Tony Alessandra. He breaks these styles down in an easy to digest fashion.

So, here’s some homework that’s gonna keep you out of trouble for a few days while I go to Memphis to train some future rock stars:

Here’s a link to a quick 3 minute Platinum Rule assessment you can take online. Within minutes you will know which behavioral style you fall into and a basic overview of the style. www.platinumrule.com/assessment

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Paul Castain is the Vice President of Sales Development for Consolidated Graphics (CGX) one of North America’s leading general commercial printing companies. Paul has over 25 years of sales and sales leadership experience. He has trained, mentored and coached over 3,000 sales and sales leadership professionals. An accomplished public speaker, Paul has delivered numerous key note addresses. He has authored numerous training manuals, articles, blog posts and is currently working on his first book for release in 2011. Feel free to email Paul ctstrainer@yahoo.com.
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